23 U.S. Code § 141 - Enforcement of requirements

(a)Each State shall certify to the Secretary before January 1 of each year that it is enforcing all State laws respecting maximum vehicle size and weights permitted on the Federal-aid primary system, the Federal-aid urban system, and the Federal-aid secondary system, including the Interstate System in accordance with section
127 of this title. Each State shall also certify that it is enforcing and complying with the provisions of section
127(d) of this title and section
31112 of title
49.

(b)

(1)Each State shall submit to the Secretary such information as the Secretary shall, by regulation, require as necessary, in his opinion, to verify the certification of such State under subsection (b) of this section.

(2)If a State fails to certify as required by subsection (b) of this section or if the Secretary determines that a State is not adequately enforcing all State laws respecting such maximum vehicle size and weights, notwithstanding such a certification, then Federal-aid highway funds apportioned to such State for such fiscal year shall be reduced by amounts equal to 7 percent of the amount which would otherwise be apportioned to such State under paragraphs (1) through (5) of section
104(b).

(3)If within one year from the date that the apportionment for any State is reduced in accordance with paragraph (2) of this subsection the Secretary determines that such State is enforcing all State laws respecting maximum size and weights, the apportionment of such State shall be increased by an amount equal to such reduction. If the Secretary does not make such a determination within such one-year period, the amounts so withheld shall be reapportioned to all other eligible States.

(c)The Secretary shall reduce the State’s apportionment of Federal-aid highway funds under section
104(b)(1) in an amount up to 8 percent of the amount to be apportioned in any fiscal year beginning after September 30, 1984, during which heavy vehicles, subject to the use tax imposed by section 4481 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, may be lawfully registered in the State without having presented proof of payment, in such form as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, of the use tax imposed by section 4481 of such Code. Amounts withheld from apportionment to a State under this subsection shall be apportioned to the other States pursuant to the formulas of section
104(b)(1) and shall be available in the same manner and to the same extent as other Interstate funds apportioned at the same time to other States.

Section 4481 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, referred to in subsec. (c), is classified to section
4481 of Title
26, Internal Revenue Code.

Prior Provisions

A prior section
141,Pub. L. 90–495, § 35(a),Aug. 23, 1968, 82 Stat. 836, related to real property acquisition policies, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 91–646, title III, § 306,Jan. 2, 1971, 84 Stat. 1907, such repeal becoming effective as to all States after July 1, 1972, the date on which sections
4630 and
4655 of Title
42, The Public Health and Welfare, covering similar subject matter, became applicable to all States.

1995—Pub. L. 104–59redesignated subsecs. (b) to (d) as (a) to (c), respectively, and struck out former subsec. (a) which read as follows: “Each State shall certify to the Secretary before January 1 of each year that it is enforcing all speed limits on public highways in accordance with section
154 of this title. The Secretary shall not approve any project under section
106 of this title in any State which has failed to certify in accordance with this subsection.”

1991—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102–240inserted at end “Each State shall also certify that it is enforcing and complying with the provisions of section
127(d) of this title and section 411(j) of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (49 App. U.S.C. 2311(j)).”

Amendment by Pub. L. 112–141effective Oct. 1, 2012, see section 3(a) ofPub. L. 112–141, set out as an Effective and Termination Dates of 2012 Amendment note under section
101 of this title.

Effective Date of 1995 Amendment

Pub. L. 104–59, title II, § 205(d)(3),Nov. 28, 1995, 109 Stat. 577, provided that: “The amendments made by paragraph (1) [amending this section and repealing section
154 of this title] shall be applicable to a State on the 10th day following the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 28, 1995]; except that if the legislature of a State is not in session on such date of enactment and the chief executive officer of the State declares, before such 10th day, that the legislature is not in session and that the State prefers an applicability date for such amendments that is after the date on which the legislature will convene, such amendments shall be applicable to the State on the 60th day following the date on which the legislature next convenes.”

Effective Date of 1991 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 102–240effective Dec. 18, 1991, and applicable to funds authorized to be appropriated or made available after Sept. 30, 1991, and, with certain exceptions, not applicable to funds appropriated or made available on or before Sept. 30, 1991, see section 1100 ofPub. L. 102–240, set out as a note under section
104 of this title.

Effective Date of 1978 Amendment

Pub. L. 95–599, title I, § 123(e),Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2702, provided that subsec. (c)(2) and (3) of this section be applicable to certifications required by this section to be filed on or after Jan. 1, 1980, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 96–106, § 12,Nov. 9, 1979, 93 Stat. 798.

“(a) Not later than the one-hundred-eightieth day after the date of enactment of this section [Nov. 6, 1978], the Secretary of Transportation, hereunder referred to as the ‘Secretary’, in consultation with each State shall inventory the existing system of penalties for violations of vehicle weight laws, rules, and regulations on any portion of any Federal-aid system in such State. Each State shall annually thereafter report to the Secretary its current inventory.

“(b)(1) Not later than the one-hundred-eightieth day after the date of enactment of this section [Nov. 6, 1978], the Secretary, in consultation with each State, shall inventory the existing system in such State for the issuance of special permits. Each State shall annually thereafter report to the Secretary its current inventory.

“(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘special permit’ means a license or permit issued pursuant to State law, rule, or regulation which authorizes a vehicle to exceed the weight limitation for such vehicle established under State law, rule, or regulation.

“(c) Not later than January 1 of the second calendar year which begins after the date of enactment of this section [Nov. 6, 1978] and each calendar year thereafter the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Public Works and Transportation [now Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure] of the House of Representatives an annual report together with such recommendations as the Secretary deems necessary on (1) the latest annual inventory of State systems of penalties required by subsection (a) of this section; (2) the latest annual inventory of State systems for the issuance of special permits required by subsection (b) of this section; (3) the annual certification submitted by each State required by section
141(b) of title
23, United States Code.”

[For termination, effective May 15, 2000, of reporting provisions in section 123(c) ofPub. L. 95–599, set out above, see section 3003 ofPub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out as a note under section
1113 of Title
31, Money and Finance, and page 135 of House Document No. 103–7.]